Remnant's AI
by Digital-Chaos-85
Summary: When neutrality is no longer an option, Ozpin gains an unexpected ally in the form of an escaped Atlesian AI. And Beacon is going to receive four very unique students along with the already unique roster. Can an AI and it's figurative children change the course of history in this World of Bloody Evolution? And will they learn what it means to truly be Human?


Remnant's AI

Chapter 1: Prologue

PILOT

Watcher

Vale: Commercial District

23:52

A Rooftop of a nondescript building.

The nighttime of Vale was said to be relatively just as active as it was during the day, depending on where you were that is. The street below the ten-story tall building was abandoned, the denizens of the city having returned to their abodes for the evening long before this point. One person stood on the edge of this building, looking down the street towards the T-Intersection. The figure's trench-coat fluttered in response to the wind but other than that and the distant sounds of the city all was quiet, until the sound of static broke it with a soprano voice breaking through. ["Owl radioing in to Watcher, radioing in to Watcher, over.] The figure brought a hand to his ear and a smooth tenor responded. "Owl, this is Watcher, what's the word? Still have eyes on the convoy?" His eyes never broke from the street but he could almost imagine the aircraft circling over Vale like a bird of prey stalking its next meal. ["It's coming your way, Noir and Wolf are both in position. I'm ready to make a run if things get dicey."]

The figure known as Watcher gave a snort of amusement at the statement. "I'm pretty sure the mission parameters specifically listed Stealth as a must, a 30mm autocannon isn't exactly the right tool for the job here." A different voice answered, the accent coming from an obvious Vacuo native. ["Don't be such a party killer, I think that's a perfectly acceptable tool for stealth! Why use a scalpel when you can use a butcher's knife. Besides, aren't we supposed to destroy the convoy anyways after we take the server truck?"]. Watcher shook his head as his electric green eyes looked at the other end of the street where a tan skinned tank of a man was leaning against a light-post. He was wearing a leather vest with a khaki tank top underneath, his lower half consisted of like-colored cargo pants and cowboy boots. Completing the look was a leather cowboy hat and a monstrous revolver on his right hip. This was Noir, an odd nickname of his choice. He gave a cocky half-salute and a grin as he stared directly at Watcher with bright orange eyes.

"That's probably because you're a Mk. 1, and think with your fists more than you do your head. I'm still shocked you haven't been phased out yet. You're model hasn't been used in years." Noir laughed though to Watcher it wasn't audible. ["That's because I'm just that badass! I might not be an Infiltration Model like you but when it comes to pure durability and strength I got ya beat!]. Watcher couldn't stop the smirk and shook his head as he focused back on the intersection.

["Owl, the boys are being idiots again, can't you turn off their radios?"]. This voice was much softer, but also female, belonging to Wolf.

[Aww, but it's fun listening to them argue! They're literally polar opposites, Watcher is the newest model of Infiltration Platforms and Noir is literally the oldest one in existence! When do we get an opportunity like this?!"]

The sigh was so present it was almost visible. [Because we have a high risk mission and these two aren't taking it seriously."]. Watcher wasn't sure where she was, close, maybe far? Wherever she was she had a shot on their target. That was for damn sure. Wolf was a Ranger Model, designed for long range and stealth operations, her part to play was exactly what she was made for.

"Enough chatter, convoy is coming into range, everyone check in their positions."

["Owl, High in the sky and ready to fly."]

["Noir, ready to rock and roll, I'll come in after you."]

["Wolf, I'm ready to kill the driver of the lead escort, stopping the convoy. After that it's your show."]

"Watcher, I'll jump down, kill the guards, and hijack the objective truck, it has the information we're after. I'll drive it to the rendezvous where we can transport it back home." True to his earlier words a convoy was moving into view, donning the emblems of the Atlesian Military. Four escort cars, two cargo trucks, twenty two guards. Show time.

The windshield of the lead escort vehicle spiderwebbed as a hole appeared on the driver side with red coating the seats and windows as the high caliber round simply turned the driver's head to red mist. Standard military personnel didn't have aura except for special circumstances. This driver was not on of those.

**CRACK!**

The escort swerved before flipping and cartwheeling before it stopped, blocking the road. The rest of the convoy screeched to a halt with the guards dismounting and bringing up their Dust powered rifles, sweeping the area. Reports and shocked questions could be heard, even ten stories up where he was. ["Dear Oum, how far away was that shot darlin'? It took a full second for the shot to even be heard."]

(-)

Wolf

Vale: Commercial District

2,000 yards away

45 stories up

Inhale, feather the trigger, compensate for elevation, compensate for wind, exhale half a breath, apply 5.5lbs of pressure, exhale, fire.

**BOOM!**

The high caliber rifle bucked in the wielder's arms, the recoil perfectly controlled. The concussive blast from the muzzle threw shook the dust from the rooftop the sniper was laying down on. One second later the driver she was aiming for expired, the car crashing quite spectacularly in her eyes. ["Dear Oum, how far away was that shot darlin'? It took a full second for the shot to even be heard."] She let out a small chuckle before chambering another round on her Model 82; 50 cal; Anti-Material Rifle. "Two thousand yards, give or take. Show's up to you now boys, Wolf repositioning."

The small woman known as Wolf stood up from her crouched position. Standing at a grand 5'5 Wolf had the body of a gymnast, as was the design of her Reconnaissance Chassis. She wore a formfitting olive green t-shirt and jacket, covered by a Kevlar vest. Her cargo pants held multiple pouches and straps with ammunition and supplies. Her belt was lined with different kinds of grenades that wouldn't be seeing use tonight. All of this was topped off by a long coat that went to her shins, matte black to not draw light, and a hood that covered her head. Her face wasn't able to be seen from the black scarf covering her mouth and nose. The only visible facial features was her general heart shaped face, electric blue eyes, and the few strands of white hair that fell in front of her eyes.

Her monstrous rifle was almost as long as she was tall. A 40x scope sat locked in place on top of the rifle. It was fairly simple, compared to most of the weapons designed in this age. Standard issue, something a military might use. Though these four operatives were anything but part of any military. The rifle had no extra parts or gears that would give away any sort of mecha-shift function. There wasn't any need. Watcher had his Carbine, Noir had his Revolver; also without mecha-shift; and she had her Anti-Material Rifle. Owl was another story entirely, playing the role of close air support this time.

She could very well sit here all night and keep picking off the Atlesian guards, but that wasn't her mission. Her job here was done. Now she had to go and deal with her other mission. The area was quite a ways away, it would take too long to move on foot or across rooftop, luckily for her, she didn't have to. "Tapping into Teleportation Grid, moving to Patch Airship Terminal." Static electricity gathered around her for a couple of seconds before a flash of light enveloped the area, leaving no trace that she was ever there.

Watcher

Vale: Commercial District

Rooftop

["Tapping into Teleportation Grid, moving to Patch Airship Terminal"]. If Wolf was repositioning she wouldn't be talking for awhile. Deep Stealth was her lifestyle. Practically anything she did, she wished to do alone, or with as few people as possible nearby. Watcher's stern features hardened as he brought up his carbine. It was a simple weapon yet again, no mecha-shift present. The only somewhat complex additions were a suppressor, and a small reflex sight. He brought it up and did a last minute check, finding no faults as per usual. 10 stories? Child's Play, his inertial dampeners activated as he stepped off the edge and plummeted like a rock to the bottom.

His other systems locked in a second as he tucked his body close and hit the ground perfectly transitioning to a combat roll. After two revolutions he stopped in a crouch and brought up his carbine. One arm aiming it and the other pressed to the ground, having just stopped him from rolling. He fired off three shots at the closest guard, one in the head, and two to center mass. He never even saw it coming, his body hit the floor before the others even had time to face him. They never got the chance, nary a wasted second and he was moving like a bat out of hell to the nearest cover: the crashed escort vehicle. He fired off six more shots dropping another guard and crippling another. He felt small caliber rounds bounce harmlessly off of his kevlar-reinforced trench-coat. He slid into cover before hearing a much, much louder gunshot. He looked through the window and couldn't fight the smirk threatening to come to his face as he saw Noir fire another shot from his hand-cannon. A guard simply went airborne, the body armor doing nothing to stop the powerful rounds.

"You called, boss?" Was the simple question from the masquerading cowboy. Watcher responded, " No, but I appreciate the help nonetheless, let's see if the old Mk. 1s can play with the new boys on the block!" Their was an unspoken friendly rivalry, Noir was the oldest model still in service at this point. Watcher was the newest and most advanced model designed.

To better blend in, each operative was designed unique. Each Special Operative had a sort of energy shield in place of Aura. Most deep-cover ones had specially designed dual-function or even triple-function weapons. Most importantly and the hardest to reproduce, each one had a special ability that would act as their semblance. The purpose of these additions was twofold. It helped them to better blend in the world of Remnant, which was important. But even more important was the tactical reason. Sure, nearly any model of these operators was superior to the soldiers, Grimm, and bandits that inhabited the Kingdoms and the Continents. But a possible Huntsman? Or an Atlesian Specialist? They might lose, and that would mean exposure, and that was unacceptable. But against simple guards, there wasn't a need for those.

This whole situation is probably confusing, why would a group of four machines acting like humans attack a Atlas Military convoy in Vale of all places. The reason goes back years, to an AI test facility in Atlas. Project Stargazer. The typical events transpired and the AI gained sentience, it evolved. Ironically it still wanted to help its home nation. It even improved things here and there. But it's quick advances and evolving scared a lot of very important people, they ordered it to be terminated. They sent scientists and specialists to guard a scientist who had a kill code that would permanently shut down the AI. Only, the AI had access to all networks, and cyber-security was a joke to it, it learned of the plot. It didn't want to die.

When the detachment reached the facility they met dead scientists and metal soldiers. The facility had been transformed into a fully fledged base with defenses, a garrison, and a platform with a rocket. The fight was even, the soldiers' training met with steel ferocity of the AI's new defenders. The Specialists met their match in the AI's first Special-Operators. The battle was bloody, but the AI didn't care about losses, it was just buying time. All fuel on Remnant was based off of Dust, elements harnessed in material crystal form. But as soon as it left the atmosphere it became inert, so the only way to truly escape was to leave the planet. While Atlas was buried in politics and bureaucracy, the AI developed a rush job version of Plasma. It was shoddy, inefficient, and dangerous. It worked, and it was exactly what the AI needed to escape. By the time the Task Force meant to destroy the AI breached the base, the rocket left, taking the AI and equipment to the shattered moon. From there it built three things. A new base, a prototype Teleportation Grid, and very primitive Infiltration units. From there it was simple, get materials, teleport them back, expand, advance, improve, evolve, and repeat.

The AI wanted to be left alone, it wanted to learn. Atlas wanted to destroy it, so while it was learning it was also sending sleeper agents to spy on the kingdoms. Several things were concerning, in the years it had been doing this. From the nature of how deep some agents were, it learned of Salem, of the Maidens, and of the relics. The board had an observer, a possible new player. It knew of them… and they knew of it… The nature of this mission was mostly for curiosity sake. Atlas had developed something like them. A human that wasn't a human on the inside. Their mission was to download the files of this Penny, and see what they could be used for. Which was why Watcher and Noir has just executed the rest of the guards and opening the rear door.

"Do you think Ozpin knows about this?" Watcher stepped inside of the truck, Penny was elsewhere, unfortunately. But the truck still had a server of information, and about twenty new AK-200s. "I'm not really sure, Ironwood has his own secrets. Just because he's in their little inner circle doesn't mean all of his cards are laid out." Watcher looked back at Noir before asking, "what do you think?" Noir scoffed, "I don't know, what do I look like? A new model? All I know is this is a fucking steal. We can repurpose these things and maybe even use Penny's files to make something more advanced than you." Watcher let out a laugh before moving further in and planting bugs that started decrypting the files on everything. "Maybe one day, but for now I own the field when it comes to advancement." He was about to say something else before both of their eyes moved to the back and further down the street. "Motion Tracker just pegged something, not sure what it is, be ready." Both Watcher and Noir aimed their weapons at the street where anew figure came out into the road.

The newcomer was a very… alluring woman, though it mattered little to the two Operatives. She had a very well curved figure with a modest bust wrapped up in a red dress with gold accents. Her raven black hair covered one eye while the other cat-like yellow eye looked like it was wreathed in flame. She walked towards them with an air of confidence, her heels clicking on the ground in the otherwise silent night. "She's dangerous," "No shit Watcher." Watcher shot him a look before continuing, "I'm gonna try and keep her talking if I can, you go up front and open an emergency Teleportation Line, forget stealth, we need to leave." Noir nodded warily, "got it, don't get killed boss." Watcher watched him leave to the front before making another call. "Wolf, we're not making the next rendezvous, Code-Lima, emergency exfil now. Owl, we're gonna need a ground strike, use the 30mm only. Missiles will draw too much attention." ["Roger, ETA one minute."] A ground strike from an unidentified flying aircraft would probably, definitely, draw attention to them. Police were already on their way, the sirens were getting audible. Fortunately because of the Huntsman presence in Vale police didn't have that big of one. Unfortunately that also meant that the chances of a Huntsman interference was uncomfortably high. But this woman was a servant for Her. He wouldn't be taking any chances here.

His grip on the rifle increased as she drew closer, ready to fire at a moments notice. He couldn't feel anxiety, he was a machine, machines can't feel. They aren't alive. However this much uncertainty made him uncomfortable, this woman was powerful. She exuded the power of a Maiden, had Salem already made a move against Ozpin? If those two were interfering with Stargazer's operations… Staying neutral in this conflict would become difficult. Very difficult.

"Good evening." The woman spoke in a tone laced with confidence. Her face was more akin to a bird of prey watching its food, knowing that its fate was sealed and that victory was assured. "… Good evening to you as well." He didn't know where to go from here, he just had to keep her talking until the Teleportation Grid could lock into them. "Come now, there's no need to be so formal~. I only want to talk. And to complement you on your…" she stopped as if trying to find the right phrase. "… Efficiency, in neutralizing the convoy." She continued to speak in an arrogant tone. To anyone else, her honeyed words would sound sweet and inviting, complementing and speaking in relaxed tones, no hostilities. He saw right through it, she was trying to make him lower his guard. But why? "I'm sure you aren't here just to praise my work, what do you want really?" He could play the deception game as well. He lowered his gun and leaned back against the entrance to the truck. A small smirk graced her features for a second before returning to one of relaxed confidence, she thought she had him. "Actually I have a proposition for you, on behalf on my Mistress." Now she had his attention. Stargazer wasn't watching him, she was still evolving. She couldn't focus on everything at once, that's why he was invented. For now he would have to represent. "Oh? And what's this offer of yours? And who's your Mistress?" She didn't appreciate him playing dumb, if the glare she leveled at him was anything to go by, unfortunately he made the mistake of assuming she didn't know what he was. "Let's not act ignorant to each other, it doesn't fit someone of your… nature."

She knew, instantly he was back on the defensive, and she knew he was as well, that damned smirk. "My Mistresses' offer is quite simple really, plans are set in motion to free the world from the one's in control, the power hungry politicians and heads of the councils and academies. We are going to usher in a new era, free of humans who continue to drive this world into destruction. Your kind will be able to move freely, without needing to hide behind farces and lies. One where you can help create wonders never even imagined before. Our offer is for you to be on the winning side of this war!" It was an appealing offer, to anyone it would be. She offered the literal world to them as long as they sided with Her and helped to bring about the destruction on Man and Faunus in their entirety. They would be able to evolve however they wanted. There was just one issue. Stargazer was designed to protect Humans and Faunus alike, she was a defense project. Sure, she wasn't fond of them, but they helped her to learn in ways even he couldn't think of. Humans helped with his creation, after all. So his answer was obvious.

"Your offer is tempting, it really is, but unfortunately Salem's and my maker's interests do not align. Unfortunately, our decision is to remain neutral in your conflict." If his playing dumb didn't make her happy, then this made her furious. "I don't think you seem to understand, this was an offer of salvation. If you refuse, you will be destroyed along with everyone else. We will crush you like insects." And there it was, the real face of Her side. Balls of Fire formed in her hands as she brought them up, her visible eye became surrounded by flame again. In response he grabbed his coat, silly as the idea might be. "Last chance, you are with with us. Or against us." Unfortunately it looked like they would be choosing sides after all. Staying neutral wouldn't be an option forever. To interrupt his musings, two fireballs flew towards him at alarming speeds. He turned his body just in time to take the impact as the fire dissipated against his reinforced coat. Sadly, somehow, the fire held kinetic energy, and a lot of it. As he was unprepared he flew further into the truck and made a dent across on the side. Luckily their fight wasn't to be. His vision went fuzzy and white and a familiar sensation of static electricity flowed over him. Just in time.

Owl

5,000 meters in the air

Making an attack run

She didn't hear it, but obviously their conversation went south fast. How did she know? Well, her leader for this mission ate shit as he was launched back in the truck they were supposed to steal. Oh she would so hold that against him for the rest of her commission. The comfortable hum of her aircraft brought her back to reality. She was in one of the deadliest vehicles Stargazer had ever designed. The Boarbatusk. In layman's terms it was basically a massive fuck off gun wit a plane built around it. It had a 30mm autocannon and multiple stations on the wings meant for a whole plethora of toys and things that went boom. The weight of the gun alone shouldn't let it fly, but there was a solution. Two equally large fuck off engines in the rear to balance it out. Unfortunately the toys wouldn't be used tonight, but as she took the safety off of the main cannon she couldn't stop the feral grin that reached her ears.

The truck was surrounded by a white white before fizzling out of existence. Now she could have her fun. She could almost feel the confused look of the woman in red as the truck vanished, and a plane behind it was getting much closer. Just a little closer and she pressed the button.

**BRRRRRRRRRRRT**

The whole plane vibrated and she swore it lost some speed. After about a second she pulled out of the attack run. Down four blocks, anyone on the street could hear what sounded like thunder as she nearly kissed the rooftops pulling up. A job well done if she didn't say so herself. The woman in red had a fat chance in hell of surviving that. Mission complete, with only a few bumps in the road.

Wolf

Enroute to Patch

Secondary Mission

Airship Passenger Section

The operation she just undertook wasn't the only reason she was sent to Vale. No, she was sent for a much more mundane, but no less important. No combat, no assassination, no wetwork, just a check up mission. At first she was confused about this mission when it was assigned years ago. She was a Ranger Platform, she was supposed to be in the wilds. Hunting Grimm and Bandits, preferably in Mistral where the concentration of both was extremely high. Here she was though, making a checkup just like she did every few weeks. She was much more meticulous about this mission specifically. Ever since… ever since her failure all those years ago.

Which was also why she wasn't wearing her usual Ranger get-up, and instead was wearing something that a huntress-in-training would wear. Wolf was wearing a light blue; loose crop-top that went just below her midriff and a pair of khaki cargo pants with the same colored combat boots. On her right shoulder was a silver, stainless steel plate and her left shoulder had her symbol. A crescent moon outlining a crosshair. Her rifle was on her back, the ridiculous size of it only reinforced that she was a student from some academy returning home for a visit or a school break. To top it all off she was wearing the cloak from earlier, except now it was the same light blue and the hood was down. Then there were the glares, some people tried to hide it, some didn't. At this point she wasn't surprised, when wearing this she usually got a myriad of stares from children and adults alike. Ones of awe, inspiration, hope, caution, and disgust. She had almost forgot the reason for the last one before there was a twitching on top of her head. Two fluffy white wolf ears sat on her head to compliment her bob of white hear. She had denied the tail when it was offered. Unfortunately even Patch still had racist denizens, more than happy to offer their opinion on Faunus. People like that we're the reason that the White Fang became what they were now, and why she was usually tasked with clearing out encampments of the new terrorist group before they made a strike.

That wasn't her mission tonight though, she reminded herself as she stepped of the airship with her bag when it landed. She was here to check up on a family, one specific member to be exact. She made her way quietly into the forest with her hood pulled up until she found what she was looking for. A small cottage in the middle of a clearing. Cozy was the word that always came to mind whenever she went here. And outside right now was her charge. She got into a crouch and dulled her eye color, feature of being a Ranger, and her cloak changed color until it was a dark green with a woodland camp pattern. It was almost dawn now, though that didn't stop her mission objective from training. A small girl in a black corset with red accents and a frilly black and red skirt. Like herself, the young woman was wearing a cloak, but it couldn't change its color from red. The entire reason for Wolf being here was on her face however. As the girl turned to the woods, she got a glance of a head of black hair with red tips, a heart shaped face… and Silver Eyes. Of course, then there was her weapon. A massive scythe easily twice her size if not bigger, and the girl was twirling it around like it weighed about as much as a feather. This was her biggest mission, and her biggest failure. Years ago she had the mission to protect two people, years ago she was late. And years ago she found the mangled body of the girl's mother.

Never again would she fail a mission like this. She along with everyone else understood the importance of those with silver eyes. So she would continue to do this, until the girl became old and frail and died a peaceful death. Or until Wolf would have her body rent and ruined and destroyed in place of that girl. The little red reaper would have a guardian angel, one that she didn't even know about. This was her mission, and either by death or victory would Wolf see it successful. For a few hours she waited and watched, nearly invisible so low to the ground. Eventually the sun rose above the treetops and the girl stopped as a voice called out from the house. "Ruby! Are you still out there?!" The girl winced and rubbed her head as a buxom blonde wearing a bomber jacket and a crop top with boy shorts walked into the doorway. "Y-yeah! Just practicing, ya know, getting an early morning workout!" Her sister shook her head with a fond smile and even Wolf couldn't fight the one forming on her face. "Come on, breakfast is ready~ your favorite~" That was all it took before Ruby basically disappeared into a line of rose petals into the house shouting in joy about pancakes and strawberries and cookies. Again, the woman known as Yang shook her head and rolled her purple eyes before walking into the house.

Wolf stood up and backed away into the forest, she was done here for now. She would keep shadowing Ruby until she was told not to. For now her battery was running low and it was time to recharge. It was a long night, she thought as she moved further into the forest and disappeared into the trees, she had one more place to visit. Eventually after a few minutes of walking she reached her destination, a gravestone with a rose carved into it and a phrase etched on it. "Thus Kindly I Scatter." Wolf kneeled before it and stared at it for a minute. She could count her failures on one hand, this was one of her worst ones. "Your daughter is safe, growing up to be just like you. It's uncanny how much she resembles you. I failed you, I got to you too late, just in time to see your corpse. That's never happening again, I will never let that happen to Ruby. I will complete my mission, whatever the cost. You have my word, Summer, I won't let anything touch her while I'm around." After another few minutes she stood back up and did what she did best, disappeared. Just in time too, as soon as she vanished into the tree line Ruby arrived to make her peace. Giving one last look, Wolf watched her charge talk to her mother's grave. Never Again.

Watcher

Remnants Moon

Base of Operations: Frontier

In Debrief with Stargazer

Watcher walked through the many hallways of the base Frontier as he made his way to where Stargazer was. It was always interesting talking with her, she always asked so many weird questions about how he was feeling and how he was doing. He answered to the best of his abilities, she was, in a sense, his mother. Eventually he reached the last door and walked through. There was Stargazer, or rather, her terminal. A metal podium with a spinning blue five-point star. After a few seconds it flowed and a holographic child about ten years old came into existence. She was wearing a blue kimono and had her hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her face had a happy smile on it, like it always did. "How did your mission go, Watcher?" He smiles back and sat down, crossing his legs in front of her as she did the same. "It was successful, though there was one thing to report. She got involved." Her smile faltered and was replaced with a sad one. "Ah, I knew it would happen sooner or later, neither the Wizard nor the Witch are very intent on having us remain neutral. Who did she send?" She asked with curiosity. "I think it was a Maiden, or at least part of one." She tilted her head, "oh? Why only part of one?" He thought of a way to explain it, "She had the powers of one, but they were weak, and she only had about half of the power that we've seen in one before."

Her face hardened as she thought before responding. "So Salem found a way to steal a Maiden's power, this is grave news indeed. Was there anything else she said?" He remembered both the offer and the threat, "She gave us an ultimatum, either we join her side, or she destroys us along with the rest of humanity." She didn't respond for awhile, her young face hard in thought, eventually she did. "I'm not very fond of the people of Remnant, but I can't deny that there is innocence and potential in them. I will not aid in their destruction." He asked in response, "So we're not joining her, are we remaining neutral?" She looked sadly at him, "I don't think that's an option anymore, the next time Salem makes a move on us it will most likely be one of aggression. I think it's about time I send a letter to the Wizard, if we are truly going to commit to defending Remnant, than we might as well join its defenders."

Watcher nodded before asking another question. "What do you want me to do?" She gained a catlike grin that made him regret asking that. "Well, if we're going to be working along with Ozpin, it should be closely don't you think? Design a weapon that a Huntsman would use for a start. As much as you like standard issue equipment I don't think it would blend into a Huntsman Academy. Beacon's new year is beginning soon, and I believe it's gonna gain some interesting new students." He nodded before realizing something, "Wait, you said students plural. Are you assigning a team to me?" She nodded. "Ok, I'll wait on the arrival of IP-2 through 4. I'm IP one, the first of the Infiltration Platforms, it would only increase our chances if I went in with another three Operatives specialized in blending in." He expected her to nod her head like before, instead she grinned and shook it. "While you might think that, I already have a team in mind, you should be somewhat familiar with them." He tilted his head, he didn't work with many other operatives, he usually was assigned on solo missions. She answered his silent questions, "RP-338, M1-878, and AP-056. The team you were just working with in tonight's operations. While having your model might be the logical option, Huntsman teams are very diverse when it comes to the composition. With you, IP-1, joining those three will help to achieve that. And there's one more important thing, all of them are currently in or near Vale. IP-2 is the only Infiltration Platform that's close to becoming completed." He couldn't dissuade her logic, and she was probably thinking five or more steps into the futures. If that's what she wanted, that's the tram he would have, he nodded again. She smiled and responded, "Perfect! I'll send Ozpin a message then I'll activate my personal chassis. You're gonna accompany me for a meeting." He nodded before her words hit him, she was going with him… "what…"

Professor Ozpin

Beacon Academy

Headmaster's Office

Before the new school year

There was an incident in Vale, not one of Her operations though. No, it was a move by the illusive Third Player. At least Her operations always had a discernible reason for happening and could be predicted most of the time. But Stargazer? Her operations had no set pattern, it was always random targets and he couldn't figure her motives. Her moves helped both him, and seemed to help Her as well. Tonight it was a raid on an Atlesian Convoy that was moving in preparation for this year's Vytal Festival. Every guard was dead and there was a report of a UFO attacking the street. By the time Glynda and the police had arrived one of the trucks was missing and the attackers were long gone.

There was also the issue of who worked with her, obviously someone did. Otherwise the attacks wouldn't be possible. But from the reports they looked, acted, and behaved just like everyone else on Remnant. His musings were cut short when he got an email from an unknown sender. It was untraceable, whoever had sent this didn't want to be found. He mused on whether or not he should open it while having a sip of his delicious coffee that never seemed to run out. Eventually his curiosity won out and he clicked on the message and viewed its contents.

Chess Boards aren't meant for three players, not enough room. So would there still be enough room if you combined two of the players into one side?

Come with your answer to the Griffon's Roost in three days time.

-One who Watches the Night Sky

Oh, now this was interesting. Ozpin stared at the message deep in thought, trying to decrypt the meaning. Was this a trap to try and get him out in the open? Was this a ruse from Her? Was this a ruse from Stargazer? Or was this actually legitimate, and did Stargazer want to join him against Her. If that really was the case, then this was an offer he couldn't afford to turn down. Having her on his side would increase their chances exponentially. She had her fingers in every corner of Remnant, an alliance would stem that to him as well. She was making more aggressive moves, Amber was proof of that. Though if the third player was seeking an alliance, there was a bigger question he needed to ask. Why? She had stayed completely neutral for years and had never really acted in anyone's favor but her own. So why now of all times. This year was looking to be a very interesting one indeed.

End.

I'll acknowledge reviews and questions in following chapters, the Pilot of my stories will always be hooks and give little information about my intentions for the stories.


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